A Reason To Be Excited

A lot of Raiders fans, including myself, were on the edge of their seats hoping and praying for a chance to finally get a real quarterback this off-season.

When the McNabb rumors started swirling I was glued to the computer screen and TV. I even opened a twitter account just to follow Adam Schefter’s updates.

When the trade didn’t happen, I feared the worst. Russell would be behind center, on the ground and in media every week while the Raiders limped to another 11 loss season.

Why not let Bruce Gradkowski start? Charlie Frye? Kyle Boller? Anybody, just not Russell. While I love Gradkowski, he is just a backup. A great backup.

Draft day came upon us, we all expected Bruce Campbell (in the first round,) Cam Thomas, or another reach or classic speedster. Maybe, just maybe, the Raiders would draft a QB in the later rounds that could unseat Russell by season’s end.

Then the unthinkable happened.

The Raiders executed a clever draft plan that bolstered the run defense, added much needed help to the offensive line and produced an immediate starter at quarterback.

I want to focus on that last part, which is Jason Campbell.

When the Raiders got Campbell, I had mixed emotions. “Yes! Finally we have a starting caliber quarterback!”

After the initial excitement died down, I realized the Washington Redskins lost more games than the Raiders last year. Are the Raiders going to be any better?

The NFC east is an ENTIRELY different level of competition than the AFC west.

The Raiders’ quarterbacks didn’t face the same level of competition regularly last year. Campbell may get a pass based on that alone.

Pass or not, the statistics don’t lie. Campbell has some good and some bad statistics. I’m a HUGE Raider fan and I’ll just focus on the good.